Courtesy of PMAI (Photo Marketing Association International)

Since the early days of photography, people have loved sharing their pictures with distant family members and friends. Picture-takers would have extra prints made, stuff them in envelopes, and drop them off at the post office. Days, weeks or maybe even months later, the pictures would arrive at their destination - bringing a big smile to the receiver's face.

These days, sending pictures - even around the world - can take less than a minute, thanks to the Internet and the ability to attach a picture to an email. For speedy sending and opening, however, the attached picture must be the right size and sent in the right format. If it's not, sending and opening the picture can take "forever," and rather than getting a smile from the recipient, you'll get a frown. Basically, there are four things you need to know about sending an email picture: One, send small-size pictures, no larger than 5x7 inches. Note: as the print size increases, the sending and receiving time also increases. Two, send low-resolution images - 72 or 96 DPI (dots per inch). There is no need to send a picture with a higher number of dots per inch - because computer monitors only have a resolution of 72 DPI (Macintosh) and 96 DPI (Windows).

Also, as the number of dots per inch in picture increases, the sending and receiving time increases. As an aside, prints made from 72 or 96 DPI files will look soft and blurry... the dots that make up the picture will be visible on Inkjet paper. So, you may want to tell the person to whom you send a photo that it's best for viewing on a computer monitor.

It's also a good idea to ask someone if they accept emails with attached pictures before you send one along. Some people simply don't like to open attached files - either because they are busy or because they feel a file might have a virus. Three, use the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format, which is one of several format options available in imaging programs. The JPEG format compresses the image for sending and decompressed it when it's opened. The compression process makes the JPEG format great for emailing pictures. Other formats, like TIFF, don't use compression.

Therefore, sending and receiving pictures takes longer with these formats. Four, the time of day you send an attached picture (or any email document) effects the sending time. Try sending a picture around 4 p.m. Eastern time (when the stock market closes and when there is a lot of traffic on the Internet), and you'll see that it takes longer than if you were to send a picture around dinnertime. (We're talking about using standard phone lines, not DSL or cable modems, which work much faster.) Email pictures brighten up someone's day. So email away. . . but make sure you do it the right way.